Misfire
by Skuldakn
Summary: What if Saren didn't kill Nihlus? How would the events of Eden Prime, and perhaps the entire Reaper Invasion, change?
1. Chapter 1

_**MISFIRE**_

Nihlus Kryik was a Spectre. One of the best of the Council's elite agents. He'd joined the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance in his early years, after being reassigned from his third squad for disobedience, he'd met Saren Arterius on a mission against a pirate warlord. He'd watched the veteran turian spin and fire and slam his way through a veritable army. Then, the sniper. An asari commando, hidden high up in the rafters of the warlord's base, took a shot that pierced through Saren's shoulder. She was about to take the killing shot when Nihlus leapt out of cover and slid across the floor. He unloaded an entire ammo block into that asari, and kept on charging. Within minutes, he and Saren had taken down every criminal in the base. That was the day he decided to become a Spectre, and that was the day Saren Arterius, the pride of the Citadel Council, took him under his wing.

"You're a good shot." Saren had said. If only Saren could see him now, Nihlus grinned. He focused back onto his scope, and fired a round into the head of a towering Geth Destroyer. The synthetic shrieked and fell to the ground as the other units began running for cover. None of them made it that far, as Nihlus took shot after shot. Once he was sure it was clear, he kept moving. He'd checked in with the human squad supporting him, and was moving to the spaceport to meet Shepard, humanity's best chance at getting into the Spectres, was their commander. She was a strong woman, Nihlus knew that much from her file. But what he wasn't prepared for was her determination. The second he'd boarded the human ship, the SSV Normandy, Shepard had greeted him with respect and formality. Yet every question he had and every remark he'd made had been met with a calm rebuttal about human adaptability. The human woman was proud of her species, and of her government. Nihlus liked that, and he could respect it more.

"Shepard, this is Nihlus." He spoke into his communicator. "I'm nearing the tram system to the spaceport, going radio silent. Meet you there." He didn't wait for a response and jumped down from the raised ledge he had been standing on.

"Go go go go go." Nihlus grunted under his breath as he sprinted for the nearest bit of cover. He found it in a fallen pillar that lay across an open field. Nihlus slid into it and drew his rifle. He could hear footsteps on the other side, a balanced pace going back and forth. Nihlus stilled himself for a moment, let out a slow breath, and spun to his feet. He twisted his rifle around and took aim, before dropping it down again. His jaw dropping, Nihlus stared at the turian standing in front of him.

"Saren?" Nihlus asked. His old friend and mentor turned slowly to face him, a grim smile covering his face.

"Nihlus." Saren said quietly, barely speaking over the wind of Eden Prime. Nihlus grinned as he looked at his friend, then frowned as he remembered the situation at hand.

"This isn't your mission Saren." Nihlus stated. There was a question in the statement, and Nihlus knew his old friend would pick it up.

"The council thought you could use some help on this one. Having another Spectre around can't hurt." Saren said reassuringly. Nihlus stalked past Saren and looked towards the tram. He quickly spotted some approaching figures and squinted.

"I wasn't expecting to find the geth here. The council won't be pleased." Nihlus grunted. Of all things to happen on this mission, he definitely did not expect the mysterious synthetics from beyond the Perseus Veil to appear after three whole centuries.

"Don't worry." Saren chuckled. Nihlus could hear him drawing his weapon and prepared his own. If Saren thought the incoming figures were hostile, they would be ready.

"I've got it under control." Saren continued. Then there was an audible click and a low turian growl.

"What was th-" Nihlus started to ask as he turned around. Then Saren's glowing blue fist smashed into his face. Nihlus flew backwards, propelled by Saren's biotic force. He barely had time to gasp before he slammed into a bulkhead wall, denting the metal and cracking his armour.

"Graaaaagh" Nihlus moaned as he slid to the ground. His head was pounding and his vision was blurry as he tried to see what was happening. The only thing he could make out was a tall shape he assumed was Saren, wreathed in the glowing blue energy of his biotic power. Saren was growling and muttering to himself, but Nihlus could barely make out any words.

"Blasted stu-p weapon! That bata-ay!" Saren was now shrieking as Nihlus slowly crawled to his dropped rifle. If he could just reach it, maybe he could take Saren down. Then a heavy foot crunched down on his back and slammed Nihlus into the ground.

"Not this time old friend." The other turian drawled, reaching down and grabbing Nihlus by his throat. Saren heaved him up and held him there, dangling above the ground.

"You are beyond lucky Nihlus." Saren growled. He held up the pistol Nihlus had last seen attached to his waist. It was steaming, and Nihlus could easily see the jammed ammo block. Nihlus couldn't help but laugh at Saren's misfortune; he was about to die, and it was all he had. Saren tossed the ruined pistol away and drew a long, sharp turian combat knife from his belt.

"I want you to know that this brings me no pleasure." Saren muttered, tapping the knife against Nihlus' chest with each word. Saren slowly pulled his arm back angling the knife to slide between Nihlus' mandibles. Nihlus closed his eyes and prepared for oblivion. Then there was a deafening crack, and Nihlus fell to the ground. He opened his eyes to see Saren screaming viciously, holding the stump of his arm. On the ground next to him lay Saren's severed hand and the knife that would have killed Nihlus.

"GET UP!" A female voice roared. Nihlus took action immediately, rolling away from Saren and racing towards the voice. He had never been more relieved to see a human. Caren Shepard stood there in all her glory, barking orders to Alenko, a lieutenant from the Normandy, and another female human in white and pink armour. Nihlus launched himself over the barriers they had erected and took aim at Saren. His former comrade was rallying a group of Geth, the figures Nihlus had seen earlier. They quickly opened fire on the humans, but fell even quicker under the human's superior firepower. Saren threw biotic warps out of his remaining hand and turned to run. The humans swiftly turned their attention to the retreating turian. Bit by bit, Saren's shields were torn down. Using his last trick, Saren threw a wide field of biotic power, lowering the gravitational constant on the three humans. But all of Saren's training had made Nihlus much, much faster. He took aim, exhaled slowly and fired a single round. He watched as the round, as though it were in slow motion, spiralled through the air. He watched as it passed by Shepard and Alenko, and he watched as it pierced through the back of Saren's neck. Saren had but a moment to open his mouth to scream before a fountain of blue blood erupted from it, showering the wall in front of him.

"I'm sorry." Nihlus whispered as he fired again, and again, and again. Saren's bullet-ridden body fell to the ground, twitching slightly. The turian Spectre walked to the body of his former friend and kicked it once to make sure. Saren Arterius, the greatest agent in Citadel Space, was dead. And a traitor, Nihlus added as an afterthought. He was roused from his own mind by a female voice.

"Nihlus?" He heard Shepard ask. "Are you . . . alright?"

Nihlus slowly stretched his arms and neck, wincing at how painful the action was. "I'll be fine for now Commander." He grunted. "Now, I want to find out what this was all about."

"Agreed."


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey guys, what's up? Due to popular demand, and one very excited guest who told me 'Don't you fucking leave it as a one-shot you bastard!', I have decided to continue Misfire! I hope you all enjoy Chapter 2, and can forgive the minor details I decided to change to fit the story better!  
_

 **Chapter Two**

"Is this your official opinion, Agent Kryik?" Councillor Tevos looked up from the datapad in her hand. Nihlus sighed internally. The meeting had just begun and already the Council was questioning his report. Though he did understand their confusion. One of their best agents had just been killed by another of their best agents, who then wrote a report about ancient demonic machines and a geth plot to destroy the galaxy. If Nihlus hadn't seen Saren's deranged writings and heard Shepard's account of the vision from the Eden Prime beacon, he'd have thought he was crazy. Unfortunately for everyone, he wasn't.

"That is correct Councillor." Nihlus answered simply. Let the politicians ask the questions they needed, so long as they believed him.

"Why have we never heard of this before?" Councillor Sparatus demanded. "Why is there no mention of these 'Old Machines' in any Prothean texts? And if they truly destroyed all life in the galaxy fifty thousand years ago, why do we all still exist?"

"The 'hows' and 'whys' do not matter at the moment Sparatus." Councillor Valern cut in. "I want to hear it all from Agent Kryik." The salarian councillor turned to face Nihlus. "Repeat again exactly what you learned."

"Of course Councillor." Nihlus nodded. He took out his own datapad and connected it to the Council Chamber's holoprojector. At the push of a button, a map of the battleground on Eden Prime appeared.

"The human ship SSV Normandy received a distress call from garrisoned forces as we approached the planet. In the distress call, Captain Anderson, Commander Shepard, and myself all witnesses a massive, semi-cylindrical ship with several tendrils descend onto the planet." Nihlus began. "Myself and Commander Shepard immediately went to prepare for the mission. When we made planetfall, I was dropped at a location approximately three klicks to the west of the main tram station of the dig site. Commander Shepard and her squad were dropped approximately a klick south of the dig site." As Nihlus spoke, each location he pointed out began to glow red on his map.

"How much resistance did you encounter?" Councillor Sparatus asked. As the discussion moved from belief to military maneuvers, the turian councillor's eyes began to light up.

"Heavy geth presence, with numbers nearing a thousand units." Nihlus stated. "The human garrison managed to defeat nearly two-thirds, but were wiped out to a man." Nihlus glanced behind him at Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, a human who had survived Eden Prime. "Almost to a man." Nihlus corrected himself.

"And then?" Councillor Tevos asked.

"As we advanced, a majority of the remaining three hundred geth began to mobilize in my direction. This proved foolish, as Commander Shepard and her squad quickly tore through the defences that bunkered down. However, the Commander did have to deal with many of the synthetic-organic 'undead'." Nihlus shuddered internally. The husks, as the Alliance crewmen had taken to calling them, were nothing short of terrifying. Nihlus never wanted to see them again, much less think of them. With that, he continued with his debriefing.

"I used most of my ammunition and heavy weaponry, but I eventually broke through the geth lines to the tram station, here." Nihlus tapped out a command and another, larger red dot appeared on the map. "This is where I encountered Agent Arterius. When his pistol misfired, he grew enraged and engaged me in hand-to-hand combat. He would have killed me, had Commander Shepard not intervened." It felt strange to Nihlus, referring to his old friend as 'Agent Arterius'. But he'd gone crazy, tried to kill an entire colony. He didn't deserve his former respect. That, and Nihlus couldn't be seen being sympathetic. He might be removed from service as a . . . 'liability'.

"Thank you, Agent Kryik." Councillor Valern motioned to the hologram. Nihlus quickly disabled it and looked intently at the salarian.

"We have read the rest of the report, and we have concerns." Valern continued. "Namely, what caused Agent Arterius' betrayal? Was it the beacon? Did the visions that Commander Shepard reported drive a Spectre mad?"

"I'm not so sure, Councillor." Nihlus spoke up. As all the eyes in the chamber turned to him, he prepared for what might be the most foolish statement of his career.

"Agent Arterius' files indicated that he encountered . . . something, during his last mission to the Terminus Systems. He was travelling back to Council space through the Hades Nexus when he found it." Nihlus looked at the images that had come with Saren's files. "From his files, I determined that the thing he found was the massive geth flagship. According to Saren, the geth didn't build it. They call it Sovereign, and it is a remnant of the Old Machines." The councillors shared nervous glances at this new information. If whatever drove Saren mad was on that ship, then there was still a major threat. The geth could attack anywhere, be it in human space, Council space or otherwise.

"I have an idea." A voice cut through the silence. Nihlus turned around to see Commander Shepard step forwards, a determined look on her face. The human ambassador, Udina, if Nihlus remembered correctly, followed her.

"Commander Shepard. And what idea do you have, outside of destroying ancient Prothean technology?" Councillor Sparatus sneered at the human. She took it in stride and faced the entire Council.

"Saren was a threat, and he's been dealt with. But we don't know what he was doing, or why." Shepard began. "His logs say he found the ship on his last mission to the Terminus Systems. But according to Nih- Agent Kryik" Nihlus noticed the commander's eyes dart about as she caught herself. The Alliance soldiers seemed to have no issue with repeatedly referring to most aliens by their first names. To the Council though, etiquette mattered. Nihlus kept listening as Shepard regained her train of thought.

"According to Agent Kryik, Agent Arterius also spent time on the Citadel before disappearing for the Eden Prime attack. The information we need could be someone on the station, we just need to find out where." Shepard leaned back and folded her arms across her chest, as if daring the Council to disagree. Luckily for her, Sparatus' angry tirade was cut off by Ambassador Udina.

"With this evidence and eyewitness accounts, the Council cannot ignore the treachery of Saren Arterius! His actions over the past must be scrutinized, especially his dealings with humans!" Udina nearly roared.

"Calm yourself Ambassador." Councillor Tevos placated the loud human. "You are correct, we cannot know if Agent Arterius' actions were done because of this . . . Sovereign, or because of a deeper secret. We will assign a Spectre to investigate past mission reports." At this, Nihlus' heart sank. He was Saren's closest friend in the Spectres, he expected the Council would assign him this task.

"Agent Kryik." The voice of Councillor Valern shook Nihlus out of his thoughts. Nihlus snapped to attention and faced the Councillor. "We have also requested a C-Sec investigator to begin the search through the Citadel for anything and everything that Agent Arterius may have left behind. He will answer directly to you and your protégé, and you will report all findings directly to the Council. Speak with Executor Pallin."

"Yes Councillor." Nihlus nodded. And with that, he spun on his heel and motioned for Shepard to follow him. The human hurried after him with her squad.

"Alright Shepard, we're a team now." Nihlus spoke plainly. Shepard was a soldier, not a politician. His favourite kind of people. "I need you to send your squad back to the Normandy. They can report to Captain Anderson that you're now working with me." Nihlus let Shepard give the orders to the other two humans before he continued. "Spectres need to work on their feet. You can't be bogged down by chain of command or interfering orders. What the Council says, goes." Shepard looked like she wanted to argue that point, but she let it slide. Good.

"So, where's this Executor Pallin?" Shepard asked.

"He'll be in his office, near the embassies. You should try and make a good impression, he might not like Spectres much but he's well connected." Nihlus watched the commander mentally note down everything he said, then the two of them entered the lift down to the Presidium.

"Agent Kryik. Commander Shepard." Executor Pallin didn't stand as the Spectre and his trainee entered the office. Just as cold as always, Nihlus noticed. The executor, being the liaison between the Council and C-Sec, frequently had to deal with Spectres. And Pallin despised Spectres.

"Executor." Nihlus inclined his head to the seated turian. "Shepard and I are here to request a C-Sec investigator to assist us with our search of the Citadel."

"Yes, I received the Council's orders." Pallin stopped tapping away at his computer. He finally stood up and walked to a desk at the far corner of his office, overlooking the Presidium. Pallin picked up a datapad from the desk and handed it to Nihlus as the Spectre stepped next to him.

"I am assigning you Investigator Garrus Vakarian. Good military record, family history of C-Sec. And he thinks like you Spectres." Nihlus honestly couldn't tell what kind of tone Pallin used as he described Vakarian. But the investigator sounded skilled, so Nihlus didn't complain.

"Thank you Executor." Shepard said from behind them both as Nihlus handed her the datapad.

"Where can we find Vakarian?" Nihlus turned back to Pallin.

"He's in the Wards, near the med clinic." Pallin said. "Taking personal leave, he called it."

"Thank you Executor." Nihlus inclined his head. Then he nodded to Shepard and the both of them hastily left the executor's office.

"He doesn't like Spectres much, does he?" Shepard asked. Nihlus answered her with a glance, and the human woman's lips turned up slightly.

"Let's go find our investigator." Nihlus said, and the two headed for the Wards.


	3. Chapter 3

_Alright guys, I'm back with more Misfire. Time to introduce some old friends and set up the action! Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

The first thing that Nihlus saw when he entered the med clinic was three armed humans in gang colours. The second was the young human woman in medical clothing being threatened by what looked like the gang leader. The third was a turian in blue C-Sec armour crouched behind a wall, out of sight of the thugs.

"What the?" One of the thugs twisted around as the door slid closed. To his surprise, there was nothing there. The thug looked back to his boss, who motioned his head to the entrance. Both of the other thugs nodded, raised their pistols and slowly creeped out of the med clinic. The C-Sec officer crouched low to avoid being spotted, as Nihlus breathed slowly. He held Shepard close to his body, his tactical cloak being just big enough to cover them both. His human partner's heart was pounding, he could feel it, yet she kept her breathing quiet and under control. Nihlus was impressed.

"Now, are you gonna cooperate? Or do I hafta' bring my boys back in here to teach you a lesson?" The gang leader growled at the doctor. The human woman's eyes widened in fear and she shook her head rapidly.

"No, no please! Tell Fist I'll cooperate!" She spluttered. The gang leader let out a lecherous laugh and holstered his pistol.

"That's good Doc. Now why don't you and me have a talk about my price for letting you-" The gang leader had almost finished his thought when Shepard stepped out of the cloaking field, stepped past the C-Sec officer with a whispered "Mine." and slammed her pistol into the back of the thug's head. The doctor let out a shriek at the armed and armoured Shepard's sudden appearance, and the other two thugs rushed back in at the sound.

"Hey boss! You all- Hey!" The C-Sec officer jumped one of the thugs, knocking the human against the metal walls. The second thug was too shocked to attack at first, and by the time he'd gotten his gun out of its holster he found Nihlus' shotgun pointing straight at his face.

"Drop it." The turian Spectre ordered. The thug complied immediately, a dark stain spreading across the crotch of his trousers. Nihlus rolled his eyes and cracked the butt of his shotgun against the human's temple. He went down with a quiet sigh next to his comrade.

"Good timing." The C-Sec officer nodded at Nihlus. Then he twisted around and hurried to the doctor's side.

"She's alright." Shepard looked up at the turian. "A bit shocked. Does the clinic have any blankets?"

"On the . . . t-the . . ." The human doctor stuttered and pointed to a cupboard on the far wall. Shepard stood slowly and moved to the cupboard. While his partner grabbed the blankets, Nihlus kneeled down in front of the doctor.

"Can you tell me your name?" He asked quietly.

"My n-name is Chloe Michel . . ." the doctor trailed off.

"My name is Nihlus Kryik. I'm a Spectre." Nihlus glanced up as Shepard returned with the blanket and what looked like a bright orange energy drink. "This is Caren Shepard, my partner." Nihlus almost didn't notice the subtle shift in Shepard's body as he said 'partner'. Whether it was a positive or negative effect, he couldn't tell.

"What can you tell me about the men who attacked you?" Nihlus continued, returning his focus to the doctor.

"Yes, I . . ." The doctor looked around her fearfully before looking back at Nihlus, steel flashing behind her eyes. "Yes I can. They work for Fist, the crime lord who owns Chora's Den. He wanted me to keep quiet about a quarian who came in here wounded."

"What would a crime lord want with a quarian?" The C-Sec investigator wondered aloud."

"I don't know." The doctor sighed. "She was muttering something about a Spectre, named Saren I think. She had information on him."

"Thank you." Nihlus spoke quickly. He spun on his heel and hurried towards the exit. Shepard and the C-Sec investigator followed behind.

"What's the plan?" Shepard asked.

"The doctor said Fist wanted her to keep quiet about the quarian. That means he must already know where she is." Nihlus explained as he and his companions sprinted through the Wards. "If we want to save the quarian, we need to get to Fist."

"He's right." The C-Sec investigator agreed. "My name's Garrus Vakarian, I know the Wards. Through here." Vakarian took a sharp turn near the markets and led Nihlus and Shepard through a dim alleyway. The three of them ran as fast as they could with their armour on and guns out. A junkie lying on the hard ground spasmed in fear as they passed him, but they paid him no mind. Nihlus' adrenaline was pumping, and then he finally saw the bright neon signs of Chora's Den. He sped past Shepard and Vakarian with his rifle ready to fire. The second Nihlus entered the walkway to Chora's Den he was greeted with a hail of gunfire. The veteran Spectre leapt into cover, taking care to listen for the lull. To his surprise, Nihlus could hear all the weapons firing away from him. He glanced over the barrier he'd taken cover behind and saw a massive red-armoured krogan charging towards Chora's Den main entrance. The club was heavily fortified, with barriers, makeshift cover and a veritable army of guards. None of this seemed to deter the krogan as the huge alien slammed into the guards, knocking several of them to the ground. Biotic shields rippled around the krogan as other guards opened fire, but the krogan simply tossed a grenade into the club. When no shots came out of the club after the explosion, Nihlus could only assume the krogan had killed them all.

"Damn." Shepard grunted next to Nihlus. "I don't like our odds right about now."

"Neither do I." Nihlus growled.

"I can hear you talking back there." The krogan thundered. Nihlus honestly couldn't tell if the brute was trying to shout or if he really was just that loud. "Come out now before I shoot you."

"Do it." Nihlus ordered as Shepard and Vakarian looked at him. Together, the three of them rose to their feet and met the krogan's gaze. The krogan was even bigger up close, Nihlus realized, as he approached the group. The krogan was at least a foot taller than Nihlus and Garrus, and nearly two feet taller than Shepard.

"What do you want?" The krogan grunted, levelling a shotgun towards Nihlus."

"I want Fist." Nihlus answered simply. He put a hand on the muzzle of Vakarian's rifle as the C-Sec officer started to lift it. "He knows where someone I need is."

"And who's this 'someone you need'?" The krogan asked. "I hope I don't have to kill them too."

"You shouldn't." Nihlus grinned humourlessly. "A quarian woman."

The krogan scratched at his head. "No, don't think I have a contract on a quarian right now." The huge alien turned and stalked back towards the club. When he noticed Nihlus and his companions weren't following, the krogan turned back to them.

"What're you waiting for?" He grunted. "If you wait too long, there won't be anything left of Fist for you to interrogate." As the krogan turned back to his objective, Nihlus nodded to Shepard and Vakarian.

"Here's the plan: Vakarian, you're bringing up the rear. You've got a rifle, time to use it. Shepard, you and I will cover the krogan's flanks. I want all targets neutralized, but don't shoot to kill unless you have no other options."

"Understood." Shepard saluted.

"I got it." Vakarian grunted as he raised his rifle and fixed a sight.

"Let's move." Nihlus let out a chuckle. This was going to be fun.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Vakarian was good. Nihlus almost never worked with anyone, preferring the simple one-man army strategy many Spectres were known for. Of course, having no back up had almost killed him several times, like when an asari justicar saw him kill what she thought was an innocent. She couldn't have known that the asari he shot was the ringleader of a slaving guild, and the two-week long chase they'd gone on after almost killed him. If only he'd had a sniper like Vakarian, the ringleader would have died long before the justicar had arrived. Speaking of Vakarian . . .

"Garrus! Cover on me!" Shepard was shouting. For a small human, she had powerful lungs. Her roar was nearly as loud as the krogan's, and it was practically comical to watch the armed thugs grapple with the choice to shoot the huge, monstrous krogan or the small, terrifying human. Nihlus kept watching Shepard out of his peripherals, but he had his own problem. The club had a krogan of their own, and contrary to popular belief, this one cared more about living than fighting. So instead of charging in to fight the friendly krogan and Shepard, the former bouncer was sprinting headlong towards Nihlus. Dropping his rifle, Nihlus flipped out his shotgun and ran to meet the krogan's charge. The krogan's eyes flickered with surprise before he lowered his head, ready to crush Nihlus and keep on going. Most krogan that Nihlus had fought did that. Nihlus dove for the krogan's feet and kicked as hard as he could. He could feel his greaves cracking against the natural armour plates, but his plan worked. The krogan's forward momentum sent him crashing to the ground in a heap, grunting and growling the whole way. The angry alien lurched and rolled onto his back, glaring up at Nihlus.

"Uh-" Was all the krogan could manage before a heavy slug punched through his armour plates. Nihlus took a moment to put another round into the krogan's head before he spun on his heel and rejoin the fight. His melee with the krogan had put him almost completely behind the enemy line, a long line of open backs pointed towards him. Nihlus let himself grin as he unloaded his modified shotgun into the enemy. The collected turians and humans fell without warning as Nihlus tore through their lines. It took only moments for the slaughter to end.

"Huh. And here I thought krogan were the most vicious bastards in the galaxy." Nihlus' new big red friend grunted. Vakarian made a face behind the krogan's back but quickly moved to cover Nihlus. The turian Spectre observed the carnage his team and the red krogan had created. Broken humans and turians scattered around the once lively club, a dead krogan bouncer slumped in front of the entrance. Scattered weapon particles littered the floor, and multicoloured blood streaked the walls.

"Poor janitors," Shepard muttered quietly. Nihlus couldn't help but agree.

"Time for that later." He raised his weapon again. "Let's move." The squad shuffled forwards to the inner sanctum of Chora's Den, stopping as more voices were heard inside.

"Come on, go check!" came one voice.

"No, you go!"

"Did you hear all that gunfire? I'm not sticking a ten-foot pole out there, much less my head!" Nihlus heard a chuckle come from Vakarian behind him before he reached forwards and pounded on the closed door.

"This is Spectre Agent Kryik! You have five seconds to drop your weapons and surrender peacefully!" Nihlus shouted.

"Aw fuck man, there's a Spectre out there?"

"We give! I don't wanna die!"

"Good answers." the krogan grunted as he keyed the door open. The sight behind it was mildly disappointing, to put it lightly.

"Really?" Nihlus couldn't help but ask. Two humans, barely adults, stood there with a crowbar and a flare gun laying in front of them, surrounded by cargo containers. "You heard gunfire, screaming, and a krogan, and you were going to fight with a flare gun and a metal stick?"

"Hey man, I was panicking." the human on the left mumbled. The one on the left just turned bright red.

"So, what're you gonna do with them?" the krogan growled deeply. Nihlus could have sworn he saw dark spots appear on the humans' pants.

"Let them go." Shepard order from beside Nihlus.

"You sure? They're not even smart enough to use cover." The krogan gestured to the cargo containers.

"I think having some survivors around will let people know what happens when the underworld tangles with Spectres," Shepard spoke again. Nihlus nodded approvingly at his new protege.

"You heard 'em. Scram!" the krogan roared at the humans. Both men screamed in terror and took off from the club.

"Hehehehehe. Did you see their faces?" the krogan chortled heavily. "Now, let's get Fist!" Both the krogan and Vakarian cocked their guns and moved towards the main office. While the krogan took cover next to the entrance, Vakarian slowly crept inside. Moments later, Nihlus' fellow turian came flying back out. Vakarian tucked into a roll and quickly took cover behind the krogan.

"I'll kill all you bastards! Come on!" someone roared from inside. _Must be Fist._ Nihlus thought to himself. His suspicion was confirmed when the krogan roared back.

"Fist! You slimy son of a varren, the Shadow Broker sends his regards!"

"Wrex? Well, if I knew the big red bitch was coming to the party, I'd have cleaned up more!" The krogan was about to shout back at Fist's barb, but Nihlus cut him off with a hand on the shoulder.

"I'd love to see you two bicker, but I really don't have the time," Nihlus said. With that, he reached into his armour and took out one of the experimental Spectre weapons. He distinctly remembered the experiments officer saying 'never been tested on a sapient being' several, loud, times. _I guess it's time to find out._ Nihlus grinned in his mind. The prototype stun grenade was light in his hand, almost too light. Handcrafted for a turian's stronger, more dexterous three-fingered grip, the grenade was supposed to send an electrical shock into every electrical device and biological creature in its immediate surroundings. The experiments officer had clearly stated that it might also vaporize the nervous system and brain, but no tests had shown that.

"Fist!" Nihlus roared into the office. "You have pissed off the wrong turian!"

"Ha! You think you're the first to try to get me? I've been fighting you alien bastards for- OH SHIT!" Nihlus chuckled lightly as he hurled the stun grenade into Fist's office, the little piece of metal bouncing off the far wall and landing out of view. The crime lord shrieked in fear before a burst of blue energy filled the room. Nihlus counted out five seconds in his head, and when no sound came from the office he slowly stepped inside. Two defence turrets guarded the room, both resting in their slots with small sparks shooting off of them. Shepard stepped into the room after him, scanning for any threats. The young woman quickly marched to the large desk facing them, glancing quickly at the spasming man sprawled over it. Nihlus approached Fist's shaking form as Shepard began going through his files. A quick look towards the entrance showed Vakarian taking up a position covering their backs and the krogan, Wrex, following Nihlus.

"Well Fist, this is a good look for you." Wrex shook with laughter as he stared down at the crime lord. Fist wore heavy black armour and had a powerful looking rifle strapped to his back. All in all, he would cut a very intimidating figure if he weren't currently drooling over his polished synthetic desk.

"Mmm, hrmm, grrrrm!" was all Fist could manage through his paralyzed lips.

"Interesting" Nihlus muttered. "Complete physical paralysis, but vocal cords, eyes and speech still function."

"You got yourself a fancy toy here, turian." Wrex chuckled as he picked up the stun grenade. The krogan tossed it to Nihlus, who reached up and caught it. He examined the small silver ball closely, noting the growing power charge.

"Fancy, and reusable apparently." Nihlus agreed. Then the two turned back to Fist.

"So what, do we wait for him to start walking again?" Wrex scratched his plates. The krogan's shotgun was a little too close to Fist's head for Nihlus' comfort.

"Not quite." the Spectre shook his head. Nihlus showed Wrex a small injector from his belt, the same material as the stun grenade's shell. "The grenade turns off motor function, the serum turns it back on for interrogation."

"Excellent." the big alien's eyes lit up at the explanation. "I need to find some of that for myself." Nihlus ignored the krogan and examined Fist's neck. He found a suitably large blood vein and placed the injector. One quick button press later and Fist's spasms were much less jerky. Before the crime lord could regain all function, Nihlus heaved him up and slammed the big human against the hard wall.

"Now, Fist." Nihlus rubbed his mandibles gently, staring into the human's eyes. "I want to know about a certain quarian."

"I won't tell you anything!" Fist snapped. Nihlus couldn't help but grin. The man could barely keep the tremor out of his voice. He couldn't even hold his gaze.

"Are you sure about that?" Nihlus laughed darkly. He reached down slowly to make sure Fist noticed as he drew Saren's combat knife. A Council team had analyzed all of the former Spectre's belongings, and Nihlus' request for the knife that had almost killed him was granted when they couldn't find any good planetary markers on the knife. Now, Nihlus would use it to stop whatever evil had killed his friend.

"Aw shit." the human whimpered as the serrated turian blade neared his throat. "Alright, alright! I give!" Fist raised his hands weakly.

"Explain. Now." Nihlus' voice echoed through the now quiet room.

"I started working for a Spectre, Saren Arterius. You should know him." Fist started rambling. "I did odd jobs, found him gear. Then the quarian came in a few days ago and wanted to make a deal."

"And?" Nihlus started to move the knife back to Fist's throat.

"She said she wanted to sell information!" Fist was almost screaming. "She thought I still worked for the Shadow Broker, and she was selling information on Saren!"

"That's why I'm here," Wrex mentioned helpfully. "Shadow Broker wanted me to teach Fist a lesson."

"Where is she now?" Nihlus nearly roared at the cowering human.

"Close!" Fist was crying now. "The alleyway outside the club! She thinks she's meeting with the Shadow Broker himself!"

"Really? Well, that's just plain stupid." Wrex grunted. Nihlus couldn't help but agree. He'd been a Spectre for ten years, and in all that time he'd bought from the Broker three times. Three times too many, in his opinion. But he had learned many things, namely that _no one_ ever sees the Shadow Broker in person.

"I know, I know." Fist squeaked as the massive krogan stepped closer. Shepard had finished with the computers and was standing on the other side of Fist.

"Who's she meeting with instead?" Shepard asked quietly. Her deep brown eyes scanned Fist's face as the crime lord sweated.

"I don't know exactly, but I know who they work for!" Fist's voice turned hopeful. He must think he has information to keep himself alive. "If you let me go, I'll tell you who."

"Alright, deal," Nihlus said without a second thought. He ignored the sounds of protest from Vakarian and Shepard and stepped back from Fist. The human massaged his throat and swallowed heavily.

"They work for an asari Matriarch." Fist said with a grin. He looked so pleased with himself.

"That's it?" Nihlus asked. Fist nodded enthusiastically. Nihlus sighed and glanced at Shepard.

"You found everything you needed?" He asked. Shepard nodded quickly and turned back to the crime lord. Nihlus gave the smug human one withering look before nodding to Wrex. The big krogan laughed heartily and emptied his shotgun into Fist. The crime lord crumpled into a heap, the ghost of that smug look plastered on his face.

"Why did you do that?" Shepard snapped at Wrex, her hand going to her pistol. Nihlus quickly stepped between them and placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder.

"You don't know who Fist was. I did. It was for the best." He said soothingly. Shepard glared up at him before relaxing. Nihlus gave her a small smile. "Besides, I only said I'd let him go. Never said anything about Wrex."

"My thanks, Spectre," Wrex grunted from behind him. Nihlus gave the big krogan a curt nod.

"Shouldn't we be going now?" Vakarian asked quietly.

"Yes." Nihlus raised his rifle. "Let's go save a quarian."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

"Start again. From the top." Nihlus spoke gently. The quarian girl was still shaking after her run-in with the Matriarch's thugs. He'd actually never seen an asari use such minor muscle. The few Matriarchs he'd had run-ins with often had their own companies of commandos, while Maidens tended to try to do their dirty work themselves. It was the Matrons that liked to hire muscle, but then it was usually skilled asari, humans or salarians. The Eclipse mercenaries were a prime example.

"Okay, okay." The quarian murmured. Her accent made some words slightly strange to Nihlus' ears, but his translator took care of most of the issues. "My name is Tali. I'm from the Migrant Fleet. I left a while ago, to help the fleet. I, uh, well-"

"You needed to complete your Pilgrimage." Nihlus smiled kindly. She wasn't the first quarian he'd ever met. Tali cocked her head to the side, but she didn't say anything. Truth be told, Nihlus only knew because a serial killer he'd once captured had enjoyed capturing young quarians out on their Pilgrimage, and Nihlus had needed to know everything and anything.

"I needed to complete my Pilgrimage." Tali continued. "I've been trying to save up, join a research team, find a ship. Then I heard about some geth outside of the Perseus Veil. Can you believe it? Geth outside the Veil!"

"Yeah, we know," Shepard said darkly. "The geth attacked Eden Prime and killed a lot of the colonists and soldiers there."

"Oh. I'm so sorry." The energy visibly faded from the quarian. "Well, I found the geth. A small patrol was nearby a world I was on, and I hitched a ride on a freighter." She quickly reached down to her belt and held up a data stick.

"What is it?" Nihlus asked as he activated his omni-tool.

"Something terrifying." was the quarian's only response. Intrigued, Nihlus stood up and waved over his team. Vakarian and Wrex kept their distance from the quarian, while Shepard sat next to the girl and quietly reassured her. Nihlus tapped out a few commands and the geth's data core began to play.

"Eden Prime was a major victory." a resonant and feminine voice said. Nihlus recognized its tones as asari and a powerful one at that. Each word was refined and spoken with power.

"But Matriarch, we lost so much?" another voice, also feminine, asked. "Saren is dead and the human garrison destroyed an entire battalion."

"The geth are of little consequence. Eventually, we will be able to turn the rest of the consensus, and then our armies will swell. As for the turian, it is good that he is out of the way. A violent turian was not worthy to serve the Old Machines, and now it is time for the aszzzz-"

"And that's where it cuts out." the quarian muttered. Nihlus could only stare at his omni-tool. Asari were commanding the geth. There were more geth, a consensus of some sort. And the asari were definitely some sort of terrorist group. Possibly a cult.

"This isn't good," Nihlus growled. Vakarian nodded grimly and Wrex growled.

"We need to do something about this." Vakarian started. He looked at the others expectantly before turning back to Nihlus. "They just attacked one of the oldest human colonies. Saren was anti-human, everyone knows that. With him, at least we'd know who his targets would be. But now that this 'Matriarch' is in command, we have no clue where she'll strike next. We have to get her."

"What do you suggest," Nihlus asked.

"We hunt geth," Vakarian said simply. A grin slowly spread across the other turian's face. "Whatever they're doing, their forces are mainly geth. The Matriarch talked about swelling their forces, so we have to stop that. Wherever the geth go, that must be what they're planning."

"It's a good start." Shepard stood up. "We take down the geth, and maybe we can get more intelligence from their cores."

"You'll need a quarian's expertise for that." the young quarian stood up as well. "The geth are my people's enemy, I want in." Nihlus stared long and hard at the girl, before extending his hand.

"Nihlus Kryik, Spectre," he said.

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, engineer." the quarian took his hand happily. Nihlus looked at the three who had so quickly volunteered for a mission against an unknown enemy that very well might kill them. He couldn't help the smile that broke over his face as he turned to Wrex.

"And you?" Nihlus asked the imposing krogan. "I know who you are, Urdnot Wrex, and I know what you've been through. You have more experience than all of us combined."

"Hmph." the krogan grunted and scratched at his plates. "I'm no hero, but my people and I still live in this galaxy. You want to stop it from dying, I'm with you." He stepped forward and extended an arm to Nihlus. "And I want two million credits."

"Deal." Nihlus clicked his mandibles at the krogan and took a step back. "I want everyone to gather whatever gear they need and make the goodbyes they have to. Meet me in Docking Bay 100, Rotation 12 tomorrow. We have a mission."

* * *

"Here they come." Thane motioned to the docking bay doors. Sidonis and Nihlus stopped their conversation and moved up to meet the approaching party.

"Very intimidating. A good team." Nihlus' drell companion mentioned. Nihlus couldn't help but agree. Wrex walked on the left, loaded with every sort of weapon imaginable. Two shotguns stacked on the back of his waist, a rifle over each shoulder and two mean looking heavy krogan pistols strapped to his thighs. He held a dark red krogan war helm under one arm and carried a missile launcher that Nihlus had never seen before. Vakarian mirrored Wrex's movement on the right. While the krogan was outfitted for blood and fury, the turian was fitted for precision and cold elegance. Sleek blue armour covered his form, shifting with his movements. A long barreled sniper rifle was slung over one shoulder and a Phaet assault rifle over the other. Vakarian kept a military grade pistol on his hip, along with three grenades. The quarian, Tali'Zorah, followed behind the rest. She carried very few weapons but was constantly scanning and fiddling with her omni-tool. An engineer born and bred. But it was Shepard that impressed Nihlus the most. Her scarred and worn armour didn't give her the same silken movements as Vakarian nor the brutish and heavy march of Wrex. Her confident stride separated her from the awkward young quarian. No, the slight human leading the group had something else, a simple effect that had a chill of some animalistic fear go up Nihlus' spine. A pistol on one leg and one of the famed human combat shotguns on her back, Shepard cut an impressive figure. A figure only made even more intimidating by the light purple aura that flashed around Shepard as she moved a cargo container out of her way.

"I'll be." Sidonis grunted as he took in the sight of the three approaching figures. "You sure about this Kryik? I know you have unorthodox methods and I can understand the C-Sec, but a quarian? A krogan? A human? None of them have any real reason to trust us turians." Sidonis clicked his mandibles and stroked his plates. "Why not just collect a Hierarchy squad? You've done it before."

"There's something about them." the flanging in his voice was thick. "Hierarchy soldiers are disciplined and have generations of training. C-Sec has the authority of the Council. But I chose them, just as I chose you because you're better than that. I wouldn't let a damn soul step on my ship unless they proved to me that they can be the best in the galaxy. The quarian took down a geth squad and got us the evidence we need to investigate Matriarchs. The krogan's file says he's old enough to remember the Rebellions, but he doesn't hold grudges. And Shepard," Nihlus paused. "She saved my life and we started down this together. And we'll finish it together." Nihlus turned back to his friend. "Don't worry Sidonis, they'll have your back." The other turian seemed satisfied with that answer and stepped forward to greet his new squadmates.

"Agent Kryik!" Vakarian saluted quickly, placing a fist over his heart when they reached the ship. "Reporting for duty."

"At ease Vakarian." Nihlus let the other turian relax before continuing. "You don't have to obey all rules and regulations. This isn't a military ship, this is a Spectre ship. You all answer to me, and only me."

"Understood." Vakarian still saluted one more time. Shepard followed suit with a hand outstretched by her brow. A distinctly human salute, if Nihlus remembered correctly. Wrex grunted and nodded to Nihlus.

"I want you all to understand what we're going up against." Nihlus began, stepping back so he could see his crew. They looked at him expectantly and he wasn't about to let them down.

"We were betrayed. My best friend tried to kill me and lost his mind trying to fight a new enemy. Whatever the Old Machines are, their following has power. Enough power to draw the geth out from the Perseus Veil, enough power to turn an asari Matriarch. The Council can't take action to investigate and risk insulting the Asari Republics. But not us. With me, we have Spectre Authority. We can go where no one else can, get answers where others see none." He took a deep breath and frowned. "It won't be easy. The geth have the numbers, the asari have the knowledge and the skill. We will be fighting uphill this entire mission."

"Ha!" Wrex barked. "It won't be the first time I've won a war like that. Don't know about you turians, you seem a little soft." Vakarian glared at the krogan next to him while Sidonis responded with a laugh of his own.

"I don't know, it'll be pretty hard to climb that mountain lugging a tonne of krogan behind me. But we can manage." The turian and the krogan shared a smile before turning back to Nihlus.

"You are some of the best in the galaxy," Nihlus said soberly. "They think they're bringing back dead gods. They think they're sounding the end of our galaxy! They think they can overthrow a three-thousand-year-old establishment! Well, I say they can go to hell!" Nihlus bellowed and threw his fist in the air. Sidonis and Vakarian responded immediately to the ancient turian symbol of war, while Wrex let out a deafening roar and Shepard pumped both hands in the air. Even Tali added her voice to the fray while Thane let a rare smile spread across his face.

"All aboard," Nihlus ordered as the shouting died down. "Get comfortable, we make for Feros."


	6. Chapter 6

Well, what do you know, another chapter in another week?! I'm guessing I've finally gotten over my latest spat of writer's block, and boy do I feel great. I'm hoping everyone is enjoying this story. I'm honestly shocked at how popular it's become seeing as how it started as a little one-shot I wrote for a friend that was heartbroken Nihlus died in the game. Please do follow if you want to read future chapters and write a review if there's something you really liked or something you want to critique. Have a wonderful day everyone!

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

* * *

The ship was quiet. Nihlus walked the small corridors as they sailed through the stars, thinking. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a crew this big. His ship was a modified turian corvette with a minor stealth drive, enhanced maneuvering, automated system operations and enough comfortable space for ten turians. Even with that much crew capacity, he often operated alone. Shepard, Tali'Zorah and Thane were sleeping in the port bunks while Sidonis, Garrus and himself were sleeping in the starboard bunks. Wrex was large enough to up the entire aft bunks himself and had trouble keeping his head from crashing into the ceiling.

"Probably the first friendly krogan on a turian ship in, forever really, and immediately complains about being cramped." Nihlus chuckled to himself. Truth be told, he couldn't believe everyone's sleep schedules were this in sync. Shepard had been serving on a human military ship, Sidonis and Garrus had been on the Citadel, spirits know where Thane was the last few years, and krogan were tough enough to go ages without sleep. And yet, it was only Nihlus who found himself awake. He kept walking past the small armoury and straight into the cockpit. The ship was fully automated and could run on a crew of one, but it still needed a pilot for precision flying. Nihlus had guided the ship out of the Citadel with his crew watching, and Shepard was more than happy to compare him to a friend of hers.

"Twenty seconds out of the Citadel. Not bad." she'd said. Then a wide grin spread across her face. "But my pilot Joker could have done it in ten."

"Your pilot Joker could have also found himself in C-Sec lockup." Sidonis had shot back. The human and turian seemed to like each other and had bickered for a while, much to the amusement of Tali'Zorah and Vakarian. It was good fun that would hopefully build strong ties.

"A team that trusts is a team that triumphs," Nihlus muttered bitterly as he sat down in the cockpit. His father's favourite catchphrase, and the ideal that got him killed.

"I wonder if I still have that bottle of horosk." he wondered aloud.

"I'm probably gonna regret this, but what's horosk?" a voice came from behind him.

"Shepard. Sit down." Nihlus turned his seat around. His slender human companion smiled and took the copilot's chair. She leaned forwards as Nihlus activated his omni-tool. The lock to his private store came up and he quickly punched in his code. The panel between the two of them slid open, revealing several different bottles of liquid. Some were intricate and old, covered in asari writings. Others were short and utilitarian, a turian design making it easier and more efficient to drink. And still, others were unadorned and simple, products of glassmakers of Earth.

"This is horosk." Nihlus reached down and picked up a turian bottle of dark orange liquid. "Only thing in this galaxy that'll hit you harder is ryncol."

Shepard looked down at the bottle, then back up at Nihlus. "Thanks, but no thanks." She laughed. "I'd like to keep my organs in working order."

"Fair enough. It's made for dextro-amino lifeforms so it might just kill you." Nihlus grinned. "See that purple bottle, the one that looks like a cylinder?"

"This one?" Shepard asked. "It's fancy." It was fancy. The cylindrical glass was carved with complex designs from asari mythology, detailing life lessons and the wishes of one of their goddesses.

"Very. It's called akantha. Nice and warm, with a good aftertaste. I stole it from a pirate queen in the Traverse." Nihlus leaned back in his chair.

"That sounds like a good story." his companion responded. The human woman shifted the bottle in her hands as she gazed at him expectantly.

"Maybe." Nihlus chuckled. "I was investigating a string of high profile kidnappings about three years ago. Nobody vital to the running of the galaxy, but diplomats, business giants, even regional and one planetary leader. Every trail went cold except for one asari diplomat."

"Who was she?" Shepard asked. The excited glint in her eyes intrigued Nihlus. He'd have to get a story from her after.

"Nassana Dantius. Good family, highly placed, worked under Councillor Tevos even though they hadn't really met. She sent a private message to Saren and Tela Vasir, the two most prominent Spectres. She thought she could find a Spectre for hire and insisted we help her sister Dahlia who had been captured near the Macedon system, in the Artemis Tau cluster." Nihlus sneered at the memory. "Saren and Vasir were busy, so they forwarded the message to me. Turns out Dahlia was the ringleader and was trying to sell the high profile captives as entertainment slaves. She needed credits to fund a base on a planet in the Macedon system and blackmailed Nassana to get it. Nassana didn't take kindly to that so she sicced the Spectres on Dahlia."

"What happened next?" Shepard leaned forwards. She'd gotten the akantha open and already downed a third of the bottle.

"Well, Dahlia and her men opened fire the second they saw my ship. So, I shot back." Nihlus gave Shepard a lopsided grin. "I'm a much better shot than they were." He cracked open the bottle of horosk and took a short swig.

"Hard hitting. Right." Shepard drawled as Nihlus shook his head clear.

"You have no idea." Nihlus smiled broadly. Shepard tilted her head but motioned for him to continue.

"Well, I took out the whole gang. Rescued the planetary leader, some regional ones, a CEO, and a couple diplomats." Nihlus' voice darkened. "If I'd been a single day earlier, I would have saved them all. But Dahlia got bored and decided to use some of the prisoners as target practice for her men. Add that to realizing I'd been tricked, and I was very upset with Nassana Dantius."

"I'm guessing she didn't last long after that." Shepard took another sip.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I read up and found some very interesting business dealings Nassana made. I also found that she had another three sisters, all of which were commandos in service to a Matriarch Caricia. They were most displeased when I told them all about their little sister's shady practices. They promised me she'd be dealt with properly, and I was sent that bottle a week later." Shepard looked down at the elaborate designs and resealed the half-empty bottle.

"We'll finish it when we find the Matriarch. Deal?" Shepard held out the bottle.

"Deal." Nihlus tapped his bottle of horosk against Shepard's. "Now, it's your turn."

"Oh really?" His companion laughed. "Maybe I like to keep the mystery."

"Not much mystery. I read your file and reports. I wouldn't have chosen you to be a Spectre if I left you as a mystery."

"You were the one that recommended me for the Spectres?" Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Why? Most turians I've met tend to have nothing but disdain for humans."

"You must have met very few turians." Nihlus raised a hand placatingly. "I'll admit that our species' conflict. A lot. But turians are soldiers. We're not like the asari that can remember slights for centuries or salarians who will pass down hatred through generations until no one even knows why they have it. Spirits, we're not even like the krogan. They'll just shoot you because." Nihlus stroked his mandibles as he collected his thoughts and leaned forwards. "Humanity is considered an upstart. You showed up out of nowhere and managed to give us a challenge. That change caused bitterness. But a turian doesn't make it far if they let themselves be consumed by bitterness. So when the time for a new Spectre to be selected, I searched through human records. I wanted someone who could show the rest of the galaxy your species' potential. And I found everything I wanted." Nihlus raised his bottle to Shepard.

"Well, you certainly know how to make a girl feel special." Shepard brought a hand to her cheek.

"I've got some experience." Nihlus took a swig of the horosk and leaned back in his seat. "Now, your turn."

"Mmm. When you read my file, did you see the section on Elysium?" Shepard mimicked Nihlus' movement.

"Yes. It said you earned yourself more commendations in one day than any other soldier in Alliance history."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't say much about everything I had to do to get it." Shepard's gaze lowered to the floor. "I was one of maybe thirty Alliance soldiers on leave on Elysium. Luckily, we were all in the spaceport of the capital when the Blitz hit. The techs came running, screaming about twenty frigate-sized warships that were entering the atmosphere. Elysium didn't have an official fleet garrison or defence stations. All twenty ships just landed and unloaded a thousand batarians and pirates." Shepard's gaze turned hard as she looked back up at Nihlus. "They slaughtered every single person in one of the outlying settlements. One hundred and fifty people gone in seconds."

"What happened next?" Nihlus asked. He held his bottle but had no intention of taking a drink anymore.

"The marines and I took charge." Shepard laughed ruefully. "More like I took charge. The marines aren't used to being in command, they're used to ship-to-ship assaults. I organized them into my command staff and then we ordered all colonists back to the capital. We lost more people as the pirates started looting farms and settlements, but almost the entire population made it into the city."

"How many did you have?"

"I started with thirty marines. By the end of the first day, I had five hundred people. The capital had a police force of about twenty, but the armoury had about a hundred guns. Add that to every farmer keeping a pistol or rifle for hunting and almost everyone was armed." Shepard took a breathe and collected her thoughts. "We moved skycars and anything large and made barricades and guard posts. Even with all that, we would have been annihilated if the pirates used their ships. Lucky for us they wanted slaves and loot, not corpses and burning wreckage. The pirates attacked the next morning with the sun in their eyes.

"Not very smart pirates, considering the sheer guts it took to attack an important Alliance colony." Nihlus murmured.

"I think their leadership didn't take part, otherwise things would have turned out very differently." Shepard agreed. "They came at us again and again with everything they had. Krogan assault troops, batarian slave masters, human pirates." Nihlus noted the disgust in Shepard's voice as she mentioned the enemy humans. "We beat them back each time with minor casualties. Well, minor casualties on paper. But I can still remember each person that died next to me."

"That can be a good thing." Nihlus interrupted. He continued as Shepard glanced up at him. "If you ordered those people to war and then didn't care if they died, you wouldn't be fit to be a leader. Hell, you wouldn't be fit to be a Spectre. But you do remember, and that counts for something."

"Thanks." Shepard gave him a tight smile. Nihlus was intrigued with the way human lips and cheeks moved with their facial expressions. He motioned for her to continue her story.

"By the fifth day, we'd lost fifty people. But the pirates had lost well over two-thirds of their number between our guns and traps, and their own infighting. They decided to make one last push to take the city before the Alliance came bearing down on them. I don't know who it was, but some colonist made a video of the final assault. It caught me standing on the barricades shooting at the pirates while I dragged a young girl behind cover. I saw them all watching me so I rallied them and pushed back until the pirates retreated. By the time they made it back to their ships, the SSV Einstein and a support fleet under Rear Admiral Mikhailovich were in orbit. They bombed the pirate frigates before they could take off and Alliance marines landed and captured the rest. Myself and the marines in the capital were given medals, and a few of them recommended me for the Star of Terra. I don't think the Admiral was actually considering it until that video of me surfaced, and then the whole Alliance knew my name and my 'heroics'. So I got an award and a commission on Captain Anderson's ship."

"And award it sounds like you deserved," Nihlus reassured Shepard. She seemed overly bitter about the memory. "How did the Einstein get there so fast? You couldn't have been able to get a distress call out at first if the pirates were doing their jobs."

"I was talking to my mother when the attack hit. She was the XO on the Einstein, and actually gave birth to me on that ship."

"A damn good thing." Nihlus chuckled. "Get some sleep Shepard, you deserve it."

"Please, call me Caren. I mean, you haven't stopped me calling you Nihlus this whole time. Seems only fair."

"Alright, Caren." Nihlus liked saying that name. It was easy for him to pronounce, unlike several human names. "I'll wake you if we make it to Feros."

"See you in the morning." Shep-, Caren, grinned. Her smile was nice, Nihlus decided as the human woman walked away. Alone with his thoughts and a bottle of horosk, he turned to the viewport and stared out into the starry abyss.

"What were you doing Saren? What was out there that scared you so much?" Nihlus whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

_So, I'd like to take a moment to explain my method of spanning the story. I've read a lot of fanfics where they cover the events of a game, and the author writes in almost every actual conversation in the game. Personally, I've played Mass Effect so much that I don't want to hear those words. So what I decided to do was skim along events and write the major ones changed by Nihlus' presence. Hopefully this works out in the end, and I hope you all continue to enjoy my writing!  
_

 _Again, this was written for my lovely friend Ms. Ponpoii._

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

* * *

"Everyone strap in! Sidonis, Vakarian, you're on weapon turrets!" Nihlus roared. Feros was the one system that reported a geth presence, but Nihlus didn't know what to expect when he and his crew arrived in the system. Maybe a dropship like on Eden Prime or even that massive capital ship, Sovereign. Certainly not the sight of hundreds of geth ships jumping out of the system the moment the Soldier of Fortune entered the gravity well. The sheer size of some of the ships and the fleet itself shocked even Wrex who had seen more war than all of them combined. It was that shock that had them floating in space when several geth fighters opened fire. It was only the reinforced shielding of the Soldier of Fortune that saved their lives from the opening salvo. Now, it was Nihlus' flying that kept them alive.

"Damnit! Where did they come from, we saw the fleet jump!" Caren growled. The human woman was on comms, desperately trying to track all geth in the system and contact ExoGeni on the surface simultaneously.

"Wherever they came from, they're the only ones." Vakarian's voice came over the intercom system. "There's only been seven this whole time."

"Seven of them to one of us!" Sidonis shot back. Nihlus could hear the drum of the rear turrets firing away at the geth. His crew continued bantering, or maybe it was just plain arguing. Nihlus was too busy to listen. The geth fighters began to break away from each other in what he guessed was an attempt to cut him off. Nihlus quickly swept to the right and cut behind a fighter before it could bank around and open fire. His mass drivers spat out a few rounds but the fighter was too fast. The geth returned to their positions behind him and continued firing. _Thank the Spirits they don't have missiles._ Nihlus thought grimly. Truth be told, he'd never fought geth before. Krogan and human pirates, rogue turian patrols, asari commandos and salarian fighter pilots, yes. He could deal with them in his sleep. But the geth didn't think like them. He guessed they only saw numbers as they calculated strategies and probabilities. There was no emotion for him to distract and exploit. They would just keep coming until he made a mistake.

"Got one!" Vakarian hooted over the intercom.

"Straggler down," Sidonis said a moment later. The rear turrets kept firing but neither turian mentioned another kill.

"How strong are your directional thrusters?" Tali'Zorah suddenly asked from the engineering console. Nihlus couldn't respond as he put the ship into an upwards spin.

"What does that matter right now?" Wrex demanded. The big krogan wasn't of much use in a dogfight and was clenching his fists in a passenger seat behind Nihlus. "Shouldn't you be focusing on more guns?"

"No no, I have an idea," Tali'Zorah said excitedly. "My people have used it before against geth fighters."

"Explain," Nihlus grunted as his hands flew over the controls. A quick jerk to the left and then a dive to avoid a missile blast. The jump drive was still cooling and the mass relay wasn't in this system. There would be no escape from the geth here.

"Cease all forwards thrust." Tali'Zorah began. "Divert all power from shields, weapons, communications, to engines. Reverse thrust and let the fighters shoot past. Then reactivate tracking and weapons and blow them to pieces."

"Smart." Wrex nodded slowly as realization twinkled in his eyes. "Krogan did something similar during the rebellions but the turians learned not to follow so close behind our ships."

"The geth haven't adapted because their fighters can't broadcast individually. They need to hook up to a central hub." Tali'Zorah explained.

"Alright, we'll do it." Nihlus agreed. It was a risky plan but he couldn't come up with anything else. "Activate the intercom," he called to Caren.

"Done." She called back. Nihlus put the Soldier of Fortune in a spin before speaking.

"Sidonis, Vakarian, get ready for a full weapons shutdown. Thane, brace yourself." Nihlus spoke quickly. He waited a few seconds for the terse turian reply before slamming hard on the rear thrust. His displays flashed a dark blue as the warnings sounded from the weapons deactivation. A single trace of fear shot through his mind as he thought it wouldn't work before five geth fighters shot past the Soldier of Fortune.

"Reactivate!" Nihlus bellowed to the VI. His systems rebooted almost instantly and targeting computer began locking on to all hostiles. A single squeeze of a trigger and several missiles blasted out of the ship. The missiles were a prototype turian design that used a miniature mass effect field generator to allow hairpin turns. While they were too expensive for widespread military use, they made perfect weapons for a Spectre agent's ship. This was proven as each individual fighter attempted to evade, only to find the missiles shooting right up their unprotected engines. The geth fighters exploded in brilliant flashes of green light that dissipated quickly into the empty void.

"Spirits above." Nihlus groaned. "Contacts?"

"None remaining." Caren nearly shouted with joy. "All geth signatures have left local space." The crew let out whoops of celebration as Nihlus let go of the controls. The Soldier of Fortune drifted as he breathed heavily and stared out the viewport. He could vaguely hear Wrex cackling along with Thane's dry tones, and Tali'Zorah speaking quickly with a turian voice over the intercom. He only turned around when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" Caren asked with a kind smile. Nihlus sighed deeply and patted her hand.

"Better than I was a few moments ago." he joked. Truth be told, he'd almost never come close to dying. The only time he could really remember was when he was hunted by an asari justicar. Now he'd almost died twice in as many weeks. It wasn't a feeling he liked.

"You know, I want to take back what I said earlier." Caren sat in the copilot's seat. "You definitely could give Joker a run for his money."

"Coming from you, that's high praise." Nihlus chuckled. He glanced over at Caren as she twisted in the seat to face him. "Thank you," he said slowly.

"What for?" Caren gave him a knowing smile.

"You ran comms. The computer wouldn't have been able to help me avoid all those shots if you hadn't kept tracking the geth. Next time we're on the Citadel, I'll buy you a drink."

"Maybe we should finish the open bottle first." Caren nodded towards Nihlus' hidden compartment. He shushed her and mimicked the human motion of zipping his lips, but still smiled widely.

"Maybe we will. Did you lock the destination?" he asked.

"Yep. The colony of Zhu's Hope. Only registered civilian centre on Feros." Caren nodded. "I tried opening communications, but the entire area is quiet."

"Let's hope we aren't too late," Nihlus muttered as he aimed the ship for the surface.

* * *

"This place doesn't feel right," Caren whispered to Nihlus as they walked through Zhu's Hope.

"Which part? The war of attrition against the geth or the way they're still watching us?" Nihlus asked sarcastically. He and Caren were on their way to the tunnels under the ExoGeni settlement, where the lead colonist Fai Dan said there was a geth transmitter. Tali'Zorah explained that the transmitter was used to boost the signal of the geth forces. Apparently, geth were actually a group of programs running a hardware body, and the more that were linked together the smarter they got. Taking out the transmitter would prevent long-range communication and hamper the geth's efforts to attach Zhu's Hope.

"I just think we should watch our backs while we're here." Caren glanced at a woman who was openly staring at the two of them.

"Agreed." Nihlus quickly activated his comm. "Everyone, listen up. Something's not right with the colonists, be careful with them. They might be like . . . like Agent Arterius."

"Got it, boss," Sidonis answered immediately.

"Understood." Vakarian seconded.

"I do not believe it is similar to Agent Arterius." Thane's dry tone came over the comm.

"What do you mean?" Nihlus stopped walking. Caren didn't realize at first and stepped back to join him.

"These people show open fear and are battling the geth. I have already seen two colonists gunned down by geth forces. If they answered to the same authority as Agent Arterius and the geth, why would they fight?"

"Maybe the Old Machines just don't care about the loss of life," Vakarian spoke up. "I mean, the geth Tali found did say they wiped out all life in the galaxy."

"There is another thing," Thane continued. "The people speak vocally to us and to the geth, but it seems they do not need speech for each other. I observed three men organize rations and power cables without a single word. If they had cybernetic implants advanced enough to allow telepathic communication, surely they would show on their bodies."

"He makes a good point." Caren looked pointedly at Nihlus.

"He does." Nihlus agreed. "I think we have a third party acting on this planet. Hopefully, we find them before they find us."

"Hopefully." Caren echoed. Then she pointed behind Nihlus. "Incoming."

"Ah, Spectre Kryik. I'm glad I caught you." Fai Dan, the leader of the colonists, hurried towards them.

"Fai Dan." Nihlus bowed his head. A universal method of greeting. "What do you need?"

"I just wanted to thank you." The older human smiled widely. "We've been fighting for so long, and everything was falling apart. Now you're here, and your team is helping solve all our problems."

"You're in Citadel Space. It's my responsibility." Nihlus assured the man. "My companion and I are heading to the tunnels to destroy the transmitter you told us about. My team has split into squads and are taking care of everything else."

"Excellent news! And don't worry, once it's all taken care of I will give you access to the garage."

"You don't need to worry about that." Nihlus smiled back at the excited human. "My ship is more than capable of taking us towards the ExoGeni headquarters."

"Ah. That is good, I'm not sure if any vehicle of ours could get you across the entire highway in the state it's in." Fai Dan twitched momentarily.

"Excellent. We'll report back to you when the job is done." Nihlus turned and started walking towards the tunnels.

"Did you see his reaction when we said we'd take the Soldier of Fortune?" Caren asked quietly.

"Yes. I think whoever is hiding in the shadows wanted us to take a vulnerable skycar to the ExoGeni tower. And I'm not willing to walk into a trap if I know it's there." Nihlus and Caren began to descend into the Prothean tunnels together. There were signs of attempted studying, tools scattered about. Then there were the signs of battle. Spots of dried blood, spent rounds, charred areas on the walls. Unsettling.

"Why did you split us all up?" Caren asked suddenly. Nihlus shot her a confused glance as he kept walking. "I mean, if you don't like walking into traps then why let us split up in what could be a hostile territory? They can pick us off and only have to worry about two at a time."

"Because I don't think this part is the trap," Nihlus said matter-of-factly. "Whoever our third party is, the colonists are with them. That much is obvious." He vaulted over a fallen pillar and took cover behind a wall. When no geth opened fire on him, he continued, "We're helping the colonists survive. If they die, there goes whatever plan the third party had for them."

"Which is why they were going to let us in the garage after we finished," Caren said as realization dawned on her. "We fix their problems, and then they get rid of us."

"Exactly." Nihlus beamed at his protégé. "Now you're thinking like a Spectre."

"Didn't think I'd have to think differently than a soldier." Caren shrugged.

"You'd be surprised." Nihlus and Caren shared a look of humour before turning back to the tunnels. "Besides, do you honestly think the colonists could fight us and the geth?"

"Not one bit," Caren said determinedly. Nihlus nodded in agreement and kept moving. They had their weapons out now, Nihlus with his rifle and Caren with her heavy pistol. Nihlus kept an eye on his protégé as her left arm was sheathed in biotic force and her brown eyes began to glow a deep purple.

"I can feel them ahead," she whispered quickly.

"You can feel them?" Nihlus asked. He kept his eyes forward as Caren knelt next to him.

"My biotics," she explained. "I can manipulate fields of gravity, and I can feel the pull of their mass. Four light signatures, one heavy, around the first corner."

"Move up," Nihlus ordered. He and Caren hurried as quietly as they could to the next corridor and Nihlus peeked around briefly. Sure enough, four geth and one destroyer were crowding around a waist-high device. Every few seconds it would pulsate with light and the geth would murmur amongst themselves.

"Can you bring down the destroyer?" Nihlus looked briefly at Caren.

"Bring it down, yeah. Might not be able to kill it."

"Don't worry about that. Just make sure it doesn't interfere." Nihlus commanded. He readied his rifle and raised a hand.

 _One,_ he thought as he raised a finger.

 _Two,_

"Now!" He roared as he leapt out from his cover. He slid across the hard ground and unloaded down the tight corridor. To his delight, he saw the destroyer glow purple and slam into the tunnel ceiling. The other geth had no cover now and Nihlus' rounds tore through their synthetic bodies. The HWMA Master was worth the five million credits he spent on it, as proven by the shredded geth scattered around the corridor. Nihlus rolled over to see Caren holding out her glowing arm, glaring at the trapped destroyer. She stalked down the corridor until she was less than a meter away. She raised her pistol and fired a single heavy round into the glowing receptor of the geth's head. The synthetic shrieked as greenish white liquid spurted out of the wound and the lights across its body went dark.

"Well done," Nihlus called to Caren as he picked himself up. She gave him a radiant smile and turned towards the geth transmitter. Three shots later and it was nothing but a smoking heap of metal.

"Job's done," Caren said simply as she holstered her pistol.

"Indeed it is." Nihlus smiled lightly. Activating his comm, he started broadcasting to the whole team. "Transmitter destroyed. What's everyone's status?"

"The alpha varren has been killed without reducing the population," Thane answered plainly. "I am watching over the colony."

"We're all grouped up at the ship." Vakarian started once Thane finished. "Tali and I helped repair the water systems and Sidonis and Wrex found new power cells. The colony's up and running now."

"Well done." Nihlus congratulated his team. "Get the ship ready for launch, we'll be using it to get to the ExoGeni headquarters. Thane, I want you to wait here and observe the colonists. See if you can't find out who our mysterious third party is."

"Understood." came the chorus from the team.

"Come on." Nihlus turned to Caren. "Let's tell Fai Dan the transmitter is down and we can head out."

* * *

"Y'know, I think I prefer this to dealing with fighters." Vakarian cackled as the rear turrets opened fire on the geth war platforms on the Prothean highway.

"Seconded!" Sidonis agreed ecstatically. "Look at them, they can't even hit us!" Nihlus activated the rear cameras and watched several slow-moving energy bolts creep along behind them. The geth artillery seemed to be meant to fight big, slow targets. The Soldier of Fortune was just too fast and small for them to be effective. The turian mass drivers, on the other hand, were tearing apart the geth positions across the highway.

"Incoming ahead," Caren called out. "Two geth dropships making for the tower."

"Noted." Nihlus acknowledged. "Engaging now, everyone brace." Nihlus thumbed his controls and unloaded his mass drivers towards the lumbering geth dropships. The first one didn't react fast enough and the particle rounds tore right through its shields. The inside of the dropship began exploding as it plummeted down to the planet surface. The second dropship climbed before Nihlus could target it and he began to pull up.

"Bank left!" Caren shouted. Nihlus didn't even question the call, he just wrenched the controls over and the ship twisted in the air. He pulled up the comm screen and saw that the wreckage of the first dropship had struck a desiccated skyscraper. The thin building broke in half and started to fall, right into the second dropship's ascent.

"Huh. How convenient." Nihlus said simply. "Any more signatures?"

"Not geth ones, but I'm picking up a low power broadcast from the waystation ahead," Caren said. She sent the signal to Nihlus' screen and he gave it a quick glance.

"That's an ExoGeni frequency. Can you patch us in?" he asked.

"Almost there," Caren grunted. "Boosting the signal now." Nihlus could hear Tali'Zorah and Wrex lean in as the ExoGeni broadcast began playing in the whole cockpit.

"- zzzzo geth signatures remaining. Whatever's out there just took out both dropships."

"Oh thank god. Did anything drop out of them before they crashed?"

"Impossible to tell, the individual troopers are too small to pick up on this equipment."

"Well, what shot them down?"

"I don't know. It's got Citadel frequencies, but everything is classified."

"I hear the engines! Everyone get down! Don't shoot unless I say so!"

"Well, it looks like those colonists were wrong. ExoGeni's still alive." Wrex grunted.

"It seems so." Nihlus stroked his mandibles. "Shall we introduce ourselves? I'd like to know what the hell the geth are doing here."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

"I hate corporate," Nihlus growled as his team exited the Soldier of Fortune. "I hate corporate, I hate corporate scientists, I hate geth, and I hate that damned krogan!"

"He was a tough bastard, even by my standards," Wrex added helpfully.

"Thank you, Wrex." Nihlus clenched his fist. "Now, we are going to go and have a chat with ExoGeni."

"Please don't hurt anyone." the young human scientist, Lizbeth Baynham, stepped in front of him. "Only a few people knew, everyone else was just working with data we thought came from the Protheans."

"Then how did you find out?" Vakarian asked suspiciously. Nihlus' fellow turian had been quiet for a while, speaking with Tali'Zorah.

"I was assigned to study the Thorian spores. I couldn't think of a reason why spores would be considered 'Prothean artifacts' so I started digging. And when I found out about it, I tried to bring a complaint to management." Baynham shuddered. "They put me on probation and said if I didn't cooperate then they might have to go a step further. I didn't want to be a drone!" she nearly cried into Nihlus' chest. Truthfully, he felt bad for the human. She did what she thought was right and was punished for it. Nihlus became a Spectre to stop that very thing.

"Alright." he agreed. "No one gets hurt, but I want answers. The damn krogan commander destroyed the records in the tower."

"Deal!" Baynham nearly squealed. "I'm sorry, it's just- I haven't seen my mother since the attacks began." Nihlus nodded in understanding and motioned for the team to keep moving.

"You can start explaining now," he ordered.

"Okay, okay." Baynham fell into line beside him and Caren. She pinched the bridge of her nose and started rambling away. "When ExoGeni colonized Feros, they wanted it because of the Prothean ruins and the company figured they could find lots of relics and artifacts. We did find some of those early on, but then the company stumbled across a dense system of tendrils that extended across a huge area. They tracked the tendrils to the source and found a creature they named Species Thirty-Seven. Eventually, we found a very, very damaged record that showed a tendril and a word that translated to 'Thorian'." She stopped talking momentarily to take a breath. "The original survey team that tracked down the Thorian were the first to be afflicted by the spores and became drones. They served every whim of the creature, and we couldn't figure out a way to negotiate without becoming infected ourselves. It's truly a fantastic lifeform, it evolved without any form of technology like ours yet it has a fully functioning mind and the ability to use its drones to perform tasks!"

"Dr. Baynham." Nihlus interrupted. "Please stay on track."

"Yes, yes of course. Sorry," she muttered sheepishly. "Well, ExoGeni decided to study instead of attack. They, uh, they wanted to know if the spores could be turned into a weapon."

"Bastards," Tali'Zorah growled. "They used their own people for that! They're nothing but bosh'tet!"

"I know, but only the upper echelon knew!" Baynham argued defensively.

"Who exactly?" Nihlus stopped and grabbed Baynham's shoulder.

"Uh, I don't know who would still be alive," she admitted. Nihlus quickly activated his omni-tool and pulled up the ExoGeni main registry. The company had apparently chipped all of their employees and was alerted when life signs changed. He moved his arm out and showed Baynham the list.

"Oh," she said quietly. "So many didn't make it."

"Doctor?" Nihlus tilted his head.

"I'm fine." she wiped at her eyes. "I just thought maybe more would be there when I got out. It looks like the only ones from the research group are Ethan Jeong and myself."

"Ethan Jeong," Nihlus growled. They were almost to the ExoGeni hideout now. "Ready your weapons. Jeong still has two guards. Shoot to wound, but only if they fire first."

"Understood." Caren grinned as she raised her pistol. They were about to move forwards when the sound of shouting came from inside.

"You'll never get away with this Jeong! I read my daughter's files!"

"That's enough Baynham! Corporate has given me instructions, and I intend to keep my job."

"Your job? Your job! That's what you're worried about? Not our dead colleagues, not the infected colonists, not my damn daughter you son of a bitch?"

"I'm sorry Baynham, but there's no way Lizbeth survived. You have to accept your loss and move-"

"Mom!" the younger Baynham shouted as she sprinted down the ramp. One of the security guards let go of the older Baynham and went for his weapon, but a targeting reticle from Vakarian dissuaded him. Mother and daughter embraced as the security guards stepped back. Not that they had a choice, Nihlus mused. It may have had something to do with an angry, glowing Caren armed with a shotgun. Nihlus didn't have much time to laugh at the situation, as Dr. Jeong raised his own pistol at the group.

"Dr. Jeong, I think you need to calm down," Nihlus ordered. Sidonis started to move behind the doctor as quietly as he could. Luckily it seemed that Jeong was too distracted by the turian in front of him to notice the one behind him.

"I don't have to listen to you!" Jeong nearly screeched. "And don't bother telling me you have authority! I know you're not ExoGeni! Tried to trick me, but I looked you up! There are no turian security specialists employed by ExoGeni! And your friends!" Jeong turned the gun on Vakarian and Caren, who was standing protectively over the Baynhams. "A human military officer and a C-Sec investigator! Oh yes, ExoGeni has files on you!"

"Jeong!" Nihlus thundered. He had to get the fool's attention back to himself before he shot somebody. To his credit, the human only flinched a little when Nihlus began yelling.

"You want to know who I am?" Nihlus continued roaring at the man. "I am Agent Nihlus Kryik, of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Branch. You think you don't have to listen? You think I don't have authority!" Nihlus clipped his rifle to his back and slowly stalked towards the doctor. The human's face was showing more and more fear with every word.

"Come on Jeong. Shoot me. It won't break my shields." Nihlus started laughing. "That's a Kessler Mark I. They give it to Alliance recruits so they don't accidentally shoot something important." Nihlus stopped walking and straightened his back. "And even if you did shoot me, look to your left. There's a krogan there, and I'm the one paying him. He'd be very upset if that pay never arrived, wouldn't you Wrex?"

"Bloodthirsty," Wrex grunted in agreement as he stomped next to Jeong. "Drop the gun little man. Last chance."

"Uh huh. Uh huh." Jeong moaned as he fell to his knees. His pistol dropped next to him and luckily didn't fire. _Didn't even turn off the safety._ Nihlus realized. He didn't think Jeong had ever fired a gun before. Nihlus quickly scanned the rest of the scientists for more threats. Fortunately, none but the guards were armed, and they seemed to have surrendered both pistols to Caren and Vakarian. When his comm started pinging he quickly activated his omni-tool to answer.

"Thane. Good to see your face." Nihlus smiled as the image of his drell companion flickered into existence. "What do you have?'

"Nothing good, I'm afraid. The colonists have begun fortifying Zhu's Hope." Thane whispered. "I am inside a storage room in the downed freighter. They have not discovered my presence yet."

"Why are you hiding? Wait . . ." Nihlus' smile turned into a deep frown as realization struck. "They're not fortifying against the geth. They're fortifying against us."

"Exactly." Thane concurred. "There was something moving under the ground, and then the colonists all began to move in the same pattern. It would seem that the third party is a form of hive mind."

"It is, of a sort." Nihlus groaned. "Forwarding you all information. Species Thirty-Seven, or the Thorian. A plant-based creature, several millennia old. Don't breath in the spores. We'll meet you by the freighter."

"Understood. Placing rebreather now." Thane's voice became more synthesized. "Wait. Something's happening."

"What is it?" Nihlus asked.

"The freighter is moving. I think they're trying to -"

"Thane? Thane, respond!" Nihlus shouted. There was no answer.

"What's the plan?" Wrex asked.

"We're going back to the colony and we're going to find Thane. Then we're going to find out why the geth are so interested in the Thorian."

"We can help you with that, sir." the elder Dr. Baynham interrupted. She and her daughter were standing closer now that Jeong was pacified. "I was able to access Jeong's data on the Thorian, and what ExoGeni thinks is a cure."

"I helped create it." the younger Baynham said. "It was what I mainly worked on once I was put on probation."

"That's . . . excellent." Nihlus said simply. Truth be told, he was absolutely furious that ExoGeni not only sacrificed their people but also had a cure ready and never used it. "Can it kill?"

"No, it's nonlethal." the older Baynham assured him. She handed him a bandolier of grenades. "It's a gas, released by these stun grenades. If the infected breath it in, it should neutralize the spores and then they'll fall unconscious."

"You're sure?" Caren asked as she joined Nihlus. The Baynham's shared a look before turning back to them.

"Yes, I'm sure. I have to be." said the elder Baynham.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure they survive." Nihlus clasped Baynham's hands as he took the grenades. "I swear it." The scientists accepted his answer happily and moved off to a corner together. Nihlus took a moment to scan the rest of the waystation. Vakarian and Tali'Zorah were speaking with another scientist. Vakarian handed the man a data stick and the scientist's face broke into a wide grin. He quickly handed Vakarian a credit chip and ran towards a computer. On the other side of the room, Sidonis was glaring down at a very scared looking Jeong, while Wrex was cleaning out his weapons.

"Come on." Nihlus glanced at Caren and motioned towards Sidonis. "Let's go have a talk with our good Doctor Jeong."

"Good." Caren chambered her pistol. "He has to take some of the blame."

"That he does." Nihlus agreed. As he said it, he still put a hand over Caren's gun. "But Spectres don't just kill. They bring those who would escape from the law back to justice."

"You have a very idealistic idea of how the galaxy works." Caren flashed a wry smile at him. "But you're right," A few seconds later she added, "and I wasn't going to shoot him."

"Sure." Nihlus and his protégé shared a smile. Then the two of them turned to Jeong. The human paled at the sight of both armed and armoured soldiers marching towards him. He tried to shuffle away as they approached but Sidonis clamped a hard hand on his shoulder and pulled the terrified man to his feet.

"Dr. Jeong," Nihlus took hold of the man's shoulders as Sidonis stepped back. "I am going to make you a deal."

"W . . . what kind of deal?" Jeong stuttered in fear. Nihlus grimaced as the human began shaking in his hands.

"I am going to go to Zhu's Hope. I am going to burn down the Thorian in whatever hole it's hiding, and I'm going to ensure all colonists live. And you, my traitorous little friend, are going to help them."

"How am I going to do that?" Jeong's voice still quivered, but he seemed to have relaxed a bit now that he didn't think his life was in immediate danger.

"ExoGeni will give more funds to the colony. They will not abandon the people or ever experiment on sapient beings again." Nihlus leaned in so that only Jeong could hear him whisper. "I have all ExoGeni files and everything recorded. There will be a purge of your leadership, be it violent or legal. If you disappoint me, you'll join them. Am I clear?"

"Yes, yes yes yes yes." Jeong nearly cried out. He managed to keep his voice to a hush and only drew the gaze of Sidonis, standing a few feet away.

"Good. Now get out of my sight." Nihlus pushed the doctor away from him. The man crumpled to the ground and crawled away as quickly as he could. That got more stares, but Nihlus didn't care.

"A bit harsh, don't you think?" Sidonis asked seriously.

"For a piece of shit that experiments on innocents? I should have let Caren shoot him." Nihlus growled.

"Not gonna argue with that." Sidonis looked at Jeong. The scientist had made it across the room and was desperately working the communications console. "Caren?"

"Don't you dare," Nihlus warned his comrade. Sidonis only chuckled at the implied threat.

"Just taking note. I mean, when was the last time you called me Lantar? The only person I can remember you calling by their actual name is Thane, and you two have been friends since before our first mission together. You spend one day talking to the human on the ship and now you're the best of friends." Sidonis leaned against a pillar as Nihlus fixed him with a glare.

"We'll finish this conversation after the mission." Nihlus turned away from his fellow turian. Sidonis always did have a strange sense of humour, and not even the Primarch was safe from his jokes. But this was not the damn time.

"Squad, group up," Nihlus called out. His team instantly gathered around him as he began stalking out of the waystation. Nihlus passed the bandolier of grenades to Vakarian and began giving instructions.

"The gas can neutralize the spores infecting the colonists. I want everyone to suit up with rebreathers and non-lethal riot gear. I'm talking stunners, batons, flashbangs. No one brings live weaponry. Vakarian, you and I are going to arm the ship's dispensers with the gas."

"We can do that?" the other turian asked incredulously.

"Yeah, we can. You've seen the Soldier of Fortune's anti-infantry gas dispensers, as well as the containment cells and synthesizers. If we can scan the atomic makeup of the ExoGeni gas then we can modify our current stores and blanket the entire colony. We go in after with rebreathers and non-lethal weaponry, and anyone still conscious can be neutralized without bloodshed."

"Best leave me on the ship then," Wrex added. "No bloodshed isn't really my thing."

"Understood." Nihlus nodded to the krogan. "Let's move, talk on the way." He turned and headed up the waystation's ramp with his team behind him. Once he got back to the Citadel, he was publishing everything he found here. Nihlus had promised Jeong there would be a purge of leadership, and he would keep that promise. A purge of the leadership, and a purge of anyone in that damn twisted company that knew anything about this project. And once they were all gone, he'd come back for Jeong.

* * *

"That does not look good," Vakarian said simply. Nihlus wished he could have joked about understating things, but the sheer horror in his gut stopped him. In his career, he'd fought slavers, murderers, rogue agents, even whole governments. Many had been twisted and sick people who used pain as a tool and innocents as playthings. But watching a sapient being be corrupted and drained and turned into a geth husk was the worst thing he thought he'd ever see. Until he saw the . . . the creepers. There was no better term for them. He thought the spores would only take over the mind of the infected. ExoGeni's files said the spores would only take over the mind of the infected. Baynham thought the spores would only take over the mind of the infected. Nihlus didn't know if the creepers were just a construct of the Thorian or what happened to the infected, but he didn't want to wait to find out.

"Is the gas ready?" Nihlus asked. He could barely contain the rage in his voice.

"Prepped and loaded," Caren answered quickly. He could see her looking at him with concern. Nihlus gave her a quick nod, something to show he was alright before he reached up to the dispenser controls.

"Deploying anti-Thorian weapons," Nihlus muttered to himself. "Launch." The team collectively looked to the outer cameras. They watched the green gas spew forth as the Soldier of Fortune flew over Zhu's Hope. Soon the entire colony was blanketed in the thick mist and the effects took hold. Drone-like colonists armed with construction tools and light weaponry fell to the ground without a sound and dropped their weapons. The creepers had a more adverse reaction. What was left of their mouths opened wider than should be possible in a depraved simulacrum of a scream. The auditory receptors picked up nothing, and the creepers collapsed into a fetal position. Their bodies slowly shrivelled up until they were no bigger than Nihlus' forearm, before disintegrating in the wind created by the Soldier of Fortune.

"What the fuck." Caren whispered.

"Irrao." Nihlus agreed. The two words might be very different and weren't changed by translators, but they held the same meaning.

"What now?" Sidonis asked. He was already gearing up with a heavy rifle and a thick helmeted rebreather.

"We're moving out," Nihlus ordered. "Wrex, take the ship. I want you to stay off the ground till I call for pickup."

"Got it." the big krogan grunted. He switched places with Nihlus and started guiding the ship to the ground.

"Vakarian, Sidonis, Tali'Zorah, Caren. With me." Nihlus motioned to his team and moved out of the cockpit. They quickly readied their gear and placed the rebreathers on their heads.

"Alright Wrex. Open the doors." Nihlus ordered. The krogan complied and the corvette's rear doors slid open. Nihlus and his team rushed out before too much gas could enter the airlock and Wrex immediately took off.

"I'll stay in radio contact, and I'll pick off the geth if they show up." Wrex laughed. "This is a damn good ship!"

"Of course it is, it's mine," Nihlus said. "Going radio silent. Wait for the signal to pick us up." Nihlus and his team moved swiftly through the colony. He noticed Tali'Zorah shivering as she passed by the unconscious colonists until Vakarian stepped next to her. The two shared some quiet words and kept moving side by side. The group kept up the pace until they reached a vantage point overlooking the centre of Zhu's Hope.

"How many do you count?" Nihlus glanced at Caren. The human woman took out a long range scanner and gazed around the whole colony.

"About fifteen colonists aren't accounted for. The rest are all lying around us." Caren said quickly. "Wait, I'm picking up the other fifteen." Caren's expression turned to disgust as new readings came on the scanner. Nihlus stepped closer to see and saw what had unsettled his protégé so much. The fifteen colonists weren't missing. They were dead. The scanner was picking up remains of their bodies, with completely decomposed brains. "That fucker killed them . . ."

"We were too late to save everyone." Nihlus turned to the rest of his team. "Let's make sure we can save the rest."

"Movement!" Sidonis called out. The team hit the ground and collectively rolled or crawled to any cover they could find.

"Caren!" Nihlus hissed. "Do you see any contacts?"

"None yet." Caren responded calmly. "Somebody activated the crane, it's moving that old freighter over. Wait . . ." Caren stopped talking as she changed the settings of the scanner. "There's tunnels under it!"

"That has to be where the Thorian is hiding." Tali'Zorah hazarded a guess. Vakarian nodded in agreement, as did Nihlus.

"There's something else." Caren added as the group started to move again. "Someone else actually," she smiled as she put down the scanner.

"I see you saw my welcome gift." Thane's voice crackled over the comms.

"Thane!" Nihlus nearly shouted in relief. "It's good to hear your voice again."

"As it is to hear yours, old friend." Thane chuckled. "I'm glad you were able to find a nonviolent way to take down the colonists. I've been avoiding them for some time, and they seem like good people."

"Yeah, they do." Nihlus agreed. He and the rest of his team began descending their tower down towards Thane. "I'm glad we managed no casualties."

"Not . . . entirely." Thane said slowly." Nihlus' heart sank as his friend began explaining.

"The colonial leader, Fai Dan, found me when I incapacitated a security guard. He ranted and raved about a creature in his mind, and began to turn his pistol on me. Before he was able to point it, he seemed to have a change of heart and lamented the infection of his friends and family. Then he shot himself before whatever it was controlling him took hold again." Thane said sadly. Nihlus couldn't help but feel a burst of rage at the Thorian. It killed an innocent man. It twisted people into monsters. It was going to die.

"It doesn't matter now." Nihlus swallowed those feelings as they approached Thane. He clasped his friend's shoulders before walking past him. "You did what you could to survive until help came. Now let's finish this."

"Yes, let's." Thane agreed. The team slowly entered the tunnels, attaching combat lights to their guns and helmets.

"This is not ordinary." Vakarian gawked at the massive roots winding up and down the tunnel system. A murmur of agreement ran through the group, but no one felt like talking. The ambient noise of the colony steadily faded away until the only sound was the footsteps of each of them. That is until they reached the central chamber.

"Spirits protect us." Nihlus stared at the massive monster as he felt his jaw gaping open. The Thorian was a huge, hulking mass of organic material suspended in the centre of the chamber. Tendrils and roots thicker than an elcor held it securely in the air as smaller tendrils dripped an unknown liquid from its . . . mouth. Only slightly less shocking was the figure dressed in asari commando gear standing in front of it as those smaller tendrils draped around her head.

"Are you crazy? Get away from it!" Nihlus roared at the figure. Then the figure turned around and Nihlus realized it was an asari, only one he'd never seen anything like. Instead of the deep blues and purples that made up the entire asari species, the one standing before the Thorian was a bright green hue.

"Welcome to the abode of the Thorian, aggressors. What do you want?" the asari demanded. Her voice sounded like an asari should, but there was an underlying echo that resonated deep inside Nihlus' core.

"Am I correct in guessing that I am speaking to the Thorian now, and not a herald?" he asked as he leapt down to the main platform. The asari was only standing a few meters ahead of him now.

"You are an intelligent insect." the asari sneered. "I am older than you could possibly imagine, and now you dare to threaten me and mine?"

"I don't know about being older than we can imagine." Vakarian quipped from the upper platform. "I for one can imagine quite a lot."

"Silence!" the asari shrieked. "Tell me what you want, before I make you join me!"

"I don't know why I'm here." Nihlus glared up at the massive plant-thing. "I'm chasing another asari, much older than this one."

"Ah yes. The oathbreaker." the asari laughed darkly. "I know who she is. She came here with an army of metal, near a congestion of insects. The metal fought the insects, then left. Then the oathbreaker came here."

"The geth attacking ExoGeni," Caren whispered as she stepped next to Nihlus. He hadn't even heard her drop down.

"Definitely," Nihlus whispered back as the asari started pacing. "What happened next?" he called out to the Thorian.

"She offered me a tribute. A creature like her that I had never experienced. She wanted information from the previous insects, from before." the asari stopped pacing and stared at Nihlus. "I agreed, and I was betrayed. The oathbreaker took the information I offered, gave me her tribute, then launched an attack with her metal army. My drones barely held them off."

"What information did you give her?" Nihlus asked.

"The secrets of a beacon." the asari hissed. "A favourite tool of the old insects. I taught her how to understand it, but she was displeased that I could not show her the vision she demanded."

"How did you show her how to understand the vision?" Caren stepped in front of Nihlus. He was just barely able to see the wild look in her eyes as she moved ahead.

"The tribute." the asari motioned to herself. "I took her into myself, and I allowed her to show the information to the oathbreaker. A mistake I will not repeat." The ground started shaking as a shrill screaming echoed through the chambers.

"Creepers! Coming out of the walls!" Sidonis cried out. He and Vakarian opened fire on the dark green monsters as they clawed their way through the walls.

"Now you too will join me." the asari cackled. She kept laughing even as Caren twisted around and flung her over the edge of the platform with biotic power. The laugh resonated through the chamber until the asari fell out of earshot.

"Take out the tendrils!" Nihlus grabbed Caren's shoulder and pointed towards the thick stalks holding the Thorian steady. "You take the right, I'll take the left."

"Got it!" Caren shouted over the gunfire and screaming. They split up quickly as Nihlus drew his pistol. He didn't know how effective gunfire would be on the roots, so he activated his omni-tool and grinned as the wickedly sharp orange blade encased his right arm. A creeper tried to leap towards him but he was able to impale the creature on his blade. A quick shot to the head and Nihlus kept going. He counted three main tendrils on his side of the chamber, and the first one was right in front of him.

"Yaaagh!" Nihlus bellowed as he hacked at the root. The hardlight blade cut cleanly through the organic material, and a few rapid shots took care of any remaining threads.

"Caren! Omni-blade!" He shouted across the chamber. If his protégé heard him, he didn't know. He kept rushing as the Thorian began twisting and shrieking in its own incomprehensible speech. Nihlus cut his way through several more creepers before one managed to sneak up behind him. The creeper tackled him to the ground and started clawing at his armour. Luckily for him, it only managed to tear away its own hands. Nihlus snatched one of the few incendiary grenades he brought with him and shoved it into the creeper's mouth. He kicked the creature back and it slammed into the second tendril. Nihlus flung himself back as the grenade exploded in a bright yellow flash and the creeper howled as it was incinerated. Then the Thorian itself howled as the fire began spreading up its severed tendril.

"Two down, one to go. One to go." Nihlus grunted as he picked himself up. He could see another green asari rushing up the maze of ramps towards him, and he had no support. He had to keep moving. Nihlus tossed his second grenade down the ramp behind him to slow down the blasted asari before limping forwards. The Spirits damned creeper had crushed his leg against one of the steel barriers of the walkways and he definitely couldn't outrun the ones behind him. His only chance was to kill the Thorian.

"Nihlus!" Caren's voice shot across the chamber. "Behind you!" Nihlus dove forwards as the sound of an enraged asari crashed down behind him. He twisted as he fell and hit down hard on his back. His momentum carried him backwards as he took aim with his pistol and fired again and again and again and again. Each shot connected with the asari's body and she crashed down next to him.

"You will be killed." she groaned with her last breath.

"Not by you," Nihlus grunted as he picked himself up. The last tendril was quivering as he approached. A side effect of being the only thing holding up a massive creature. Nihlus laid into it with his omni-blade, screaming in rage as he killed the Thorian. The last tendril buckle and gave way under his assault, and there was one final roar of hatred from the Thorian before it snapped. The massive plant plummeted down along with its minion, and a quiet came over the chamber. Nihlus crawled to the edge of the platform and stared down the tunnel. There was nothing but the darkness below. If it weren't for the remains of the creepers and the tendrils, the chamber would have been unnoticeable from the rest of the planet.

"Yeah!" Vakarian hooted. He scooped up Tali'Zorah and spun around laughing. "We did it! That was incredible." Nihlus chuckled at his teammates' enthusiasm. Sidonis and Tali'Zorah joined Vakarian in his celebration as Nihlus limped back down. He saw Thane and Caren in conversation and moved to join them.

"Nihlus!" Caren nearly shouted as she saw him. He must have looked a lot worse than he thought.

"Are you alright my friend?" Thane took one of his arms as Caren took the other.

"I'm alright." Nihlus nodded to them both. "Had to deal with another asari."

"I did as well." Thane motioned towards an asari with a dagger stuck in her chest. "They seemed to come from these pods." The pods in question were hanging about the chamber. Many were broken open with dead creepers laying in front of them, but many more were still sealed.

"I want this place destroyed," Nihlus said. His tone left no argument. The team started to move out when the pod in front of Nihlus, Caren and Thane suddenly burst open. An asari came tumbling out of it and fell in a heap in front of him.

"Hold!" Nihlus shouted as Caren went for her gun. "She's different." The asari was, in fact, different. Instead of the green hue of the Thorian's followers, this asari was a violet colour.

"Please . . . Matriarch . . . please," the asari murmured. Nihlus leaned forwards and stared at her.

"Bag her. I want to know everything she does."


End file.
